


Girls Like Girls

by MemesDreamsAndBeans



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Based on the Hayley Kiyoko video, Best Friends, F/F, Fist Fights, Homophobia, Hurt/Comfort, Internalized Homophobia, Slurs, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:54:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24279178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MemesDreamsAndBeans/pseuds/MemesDreamsAndBeans
Summary: "She’s ethereal. Nicole thinks the words every single time that she lays her eyes on Waverly Earp. Nicole has thought the words since the very first time she’d ever seen the little spitfire on the playground in the first grade."Nicole Haught and Waverly Earp have been best friends since first grade. As they grow up together, Nicole begins to struggle with how she feels about her best friend.Trigger warning for homophobic language and thoughts.
Relationships: Nicole Haught/Shae Pressman, Waverly Earp/Champ Hardy, Waverly Earp/Nicole Haught
Comments: 9
Kudos: 104





	Girls Like Girls

_Saw your face, heard your name, gotta get with you_   
_Girls like girls like boys do, nothing new_   
_Isn't this why we came? Gotta get with you._

—

She’s ethereal. Nicole thinks the words every single time that she lays her eyes on Waverly Earp. Nicole has thought the words since the very first time she’d ever seen the little spitfire on the playground in the first grade. She’d had her hair, more blonde than brown back then, pulled back into little pigtails and she was wearing a skirt that was so pink and poofy that it reminded Nicole of the cotton candy that she and her sister had shared at the fair last fall.

The girl had stood with her hands balled up into fists, glaring at the boys who towered over her easily. She was saying something that Nicole couldn’t hear, but her eyebrows were pulled together and her nose was all scrunched up. That was the first time that Nicole thought those words. Well, she didn’t quite have that vocabulary, but she knew that looking at the tiny girl with the determined face gave her the same swooping feeling that she felt in her stomach when her Daddy would pick her up and zoom her around like she was an airplane. 

That recess ended with Waverly having a scraped knee and Nicole having a bloody nose. Naturally, Nicole had stepped in when one of the boys had pushed the other girl to the concrete. The boys hadn’t taken to her intrusion very kindly, and she’d ended up with a fist flying towards her face. The recess monitors had been anything but pleased and the entire group, Waverly and Nicole included, had been sent to the principal’s office. 

Nicole felt like an idiot sitting in that uncomfortable chair with a tissue pressed firmly to her nose. The girl with the cotton candy skirt seemed to think otherwise, though, as she had sat right next to Nicole and stared intently at her. Finally, Nicole had looked over and asked “What?” in a muffled tone. 

The other girl promptly flashed Nicole a smile, one of her top front teeth missing. “My name’s Waverly,” she said, her voice high and sweet. Nicole thinks that she has a pretty name, and she decides that she couldn’t be mad that she got punched. “What’s yours?”

“Nicole,” she said, pulling the tissue away from her nose for a moment. She was pretty sure that her nose had stopped bleeding, even thought it had still been throbbing uncomfortably. 

Waverly had sat there for a moment, swinging her legs as she chewed on her thumbnail. “Thanks,” she said quietly, pulling her thumb away from her mouth.

Nicole had looked over again, the tissue returning to her nose. “I didn’t do nothin’,” she shrugged, looking back away from Waverly.

“Yeah you did. You made those meanies cut it out. My sister Wynonna says that the big kids shouldn’t pick on the little kids, ‘cause the little kids are only little,” Waverly said, nodding along with her words.

Nicole had snorted. “Well, my big sister Haley is always pickin’ on me.” Waverly had looked troubled, the corners of her lips turning down while she started swinging her legs again. 

“My daddy’s a police guy! He can make your sister stop being a meanie,” Waverly suggests. 

Nicole smiled even though it made her nose hurt more. “‘S okay. Haley can be nice sometimes.”

They sit there for a while in silence, watching as the boys are called one by one into the principal’s office.

“We should be friends,” Waverly said as she had grabbed onto Nicole’s arm. Nicole glanced down at Waverly’s hand. Her nails had been clumsily painted yellow.

“I think that’s a good idea, Waves.”

—

Nicole did not want to go to the dance. She didn’t like being jammed into a small space with her entire school, she didn’t like the uncomfortable dresses and hairstyles, and she definitely didn’t like the fact that Waverly was going with some dumb boy.

Technically, they were going as a “group.” But Kyle Jones had stuttered out an invitation to go to the dance, and Waverly had told him yes. 

Waverly was getting ready at Nicole’s house, and her father was going to take them to the school gym. Nicole was in her bedroom, huffily tugging at the shimmery blue dress that Waverly had insisted looked great on Nicole. 

Nicole heard her bedroom door open and she turned around. Waverly stood behind her, wearing a light green dress and the biggest smile that Nicole had ever seen.

“I’m so excited, Nic! We’re gonna have so much fun, and you look so great. Here, sit down, I’ll do your hair...”

Nicole obediently dropped down into her desk chair, rolling back the few feet to meet Waverly. “It’s a middle school dance, Waverly. It’s gonna suck.”

Waverly clicks her tongue, grabbing the hairbrush off of Nicole’s bed, piled high with blankets so Waverly can be comfortable for their sleepover later.

“It’s gonna be super great. Just give it a try, Nic. If you don’t have a good time, we can call your dad and have him take us home.”

“Yeah, okay,” Nicole mumbles, falling silent as Waverly brushes her hair out. She’s gentle, whispering an apology every time that she accidentally tugs Nicole’s hair. 

“You look beautiful, Waves. I didn’t tell you yet,” Nicole says as she feels Waverly beginning to braid her hair.

Her fingers still for a moment before she continues. “Thank you, Nicole. You look really nice too. You know, we don’t have to go if you don’t want to go.”

Nicole tilts her head back to shoot Waverly a dimpled smile. “We’re gonna go, Waves. You shouldn’t waste this gorgeous look on me.”

Waverly rolls her eyes, pushing Nicole’s head back down. “It’s not wasted, silly. Time spent with you is never time wasted.”

Nicole blushes, glad that Waverly can’t see her face. She finishes braiding Nicole’s hair and spins the chair around, appraising Nicole’s overall appearance. 

“Beautiful. Come on, Nic, let’s go.” Waverly holds her hand out for Nicole, who rather reluctantly takes it.

They had been at the dance for all of fifteen minutes before Nicole had decided that she wanted to leave. She was sitting at one of the tables, her chin cradled in one of her hands. 

Nicole glared out at the “dance floor”, which was just the area of the gym that didn’t have tables set up. The music was much too loud, Nicole could feel it in her chest. But what she had been glaring at, what she had been glaring at since they had arrived, was Kyle Jones with his hands all over Waverly. 

Stephanie Jones drops into a chair across from Nicole, a nasty smirk on her face. “What’cha doing all alone, Gingersnap? Your girlfriend didn’t want to dance with you?”

“Shut up, Stephanie,” Nicole grumbled, shooting a half-hearted glare Stephanie’s way. “She’s here with Kyle. And she’s not my girlfriend.”

“You wish that she was your girlfriend,” Stephanie sneers. “We all see how you stare at her.”

Nicole stands up quickly, her chair screeching on the polished floor. "Shut up, Stephanie! I'm not- I'm not like that! I'm not a... a _dyke_ ," she spits the word as if it's filthy, parroting the words of her parents and other kids at school.

Nicole storms off, hot tears stinging at her eyes. She slams through the gym doors, a hysterical hiccup catching in her throat. She stumbles into the bathroom, the tears beginning to fall from her eyes. 

Nicole sinks into the corner, covering her face with her hand. Those words sounded so wrong, so incredibly wrong. What she feels is so incredibly wrong, too, in the eyes of everyone she's overheard. But she doesn't understand why loving someone could be so bad. It is, though, she knows. It’s not right. It’s unnatural.

It's not like she loves Waverly like that, though. She just admires the other girl, her endless ability to see the positive in everything and her insistence that the world is good. She’s just excited to have a close friend, someone who she knows won’t leave her. Somehow, though, Nicole knows that these are all the wrong feelings. This is how she should feel about boys like Kyle.

Moments later, as Nicole’s sobs begin to subside, she hears the door creak open. She looks up to find the girl plaguing her thoughts, looking guilty and sheepish.

“Hi,” she mumbles, her voice heavy. Nicole continues to stare at the floor, hearing a sigh after a stretch of uncomfortable silence. Waverly sits next to her, brushing her hand lightly against the other girl’s arm.

“You know... those girls are just bitches,” Waverly says, her voice dropping to a whisper at the curse. “And I don’t... care if you like girls. I mean, you’re still my Nicole no matter who you want to date.”

“Can we just go home now?” Nicole asks after a moment to let those words sink in. She doesn’t know if she really believes them. Waverly doesn’t have a malicious bone in her body, but how could she tolerate something so seemingly unnatural?

“Yeah. I’ll call your dad,” Waverly says, her voice soft and full of some emotion that Nicole can’t identify. She rifles through her little purse, finding the flip phone that Nicole had stored in there. She dials Mr. Haught, asking him to come pick them up early.

“He’ll be here in five.” Nicole nods, finally sneaking a look at her best friend’s face. She looks sad, almost regretful. Nicole isn’t sure that she wants to know why.

The two girls return to the Haught household, driving in silence. Nicole’s father doesn’t ask any questions, knowing by the look on his daughter’s face that this isn’t the time to pry.

Nicole is especially careful not to touch Waverly as they slide into her bed a while later. She says goodnight to her best friend and turns away from her, her mind racing.

From that point forward, Nicole makes sure to act less... like one of them. She slathers on sparkly lip gloss, giving boys vapid grins in the hallway. She makes sure to tell everyone she can about how cute Robin Jett is. After the dance, she had made a concerted effort to study every boy in the grade and pick one to have a crush on. Robin was the one boy that grosses her out the least, so she decided that he would be a good choice.

Whenever she catches herself giving lingering glances to Waverly or other girls she knows, she feels a spike of shame shoot through her chest. Something is wrong with me, she thinks one night, huddled in her bed with tears streaming down her face. 

-

The feelings don't go away. For years, she hides them, shooting glances at girls in secret and having short-lived relationships with boys in public. Kissing them makes her feel queasy, but she convinces herself that that's normal. 

At the very end of their junior year, Waverly starts to date Champ Hardy. Whenever she sees them together, it feels like a hand is gripping Nicole's heart. Champ is always all over her best friend, his hands gripping her possessively and his lips constantly on some part of her body.

She tries to stay positive, grinning at Champ every time he shows up. She listens to her best friend talking about their dates, how Champ is just so sweet and good at kissing. Nicole starts spending more and more time with Robin, content to let people think that they've started going out.

"Hey, Nicole?" He asks one night as they're sitting across from each other in the diner. He hesitates for a moment, dipping a fry into his shake. "I think I need to tell you about something and it... it might make you hate me."

Nicole's eyebrows scrunch together. "I won't hate you, Robin. What's up?"

He sighs, his eyes filled with worry. “Look, I... I don’t think that I like girls. I think that I like boys. Like, I look at James and I just want to... kiss him.”

Nicole is relieved, a sharp bark of laughter escaping her mouth. Robin’s face drops at this. “Oh my god, I thought that was going to be so much worse. I... Robin, I don’t think that I like boys. I... think that I might like Waverly, actually.”

“Thank God,” Robin mumbles, rubbing his hands against his face. “And you won’t tell anyone? Cause, you know... I don’t wanna get beat up.”

“As long as you don’t tell anyone. If you want, we can keep pretending to date to keep safe?” 

Robin looks relieved. "That sounds like a good idea."

-

The first time Nicole kisses a girl, she feels elated. It feels right, not uncomfortable and wet, nasty like it is with boys. 

Her father wanted her to be involved in some sort of sport, so she joined the softball team her freshman year. She had gotten to know plenty of girls from out of town, and they were all so nice. And so pretty, her brain adds on impulse.

One in particular always caught her eye. Shae, an absolute smoke-show who can hit a ball like no one else. They had talked a few times, growing far closer during their junior year. 

One of the last tournaments of the year was out-of-town for Purgatory High. Shae's school was in the same hotel.

Nicole sits in the lobby, working diligently on her English homework. She feels someone drop down next to her and she looks up to find Shae, grinning at her.

"Hey there, RedHaught. Whatcha workin' on?" She grabs the edge of Nicole's notebook, looking at the messy scrawl on the paper. 

"English. Questions on 1984. Have you read it? This is kinda, like, disgusting and sexist." Nicole wrinkles her nose, tossing her notebook onto the coffee table. She sits sideways on the couch, facing the other girl.

Shae snorts, rolling her eyes. "Pretty sure that's what draws middle-aged English teachers to this book."

Nicole smiles at the other girl, her dimples making an appearance. Shae returns the smile, her eyes twinkling with some emotion that Nicole can't place.

"You wanna sneak outta the hotel for a while?" Shae asks after a moment of silence. Nicole's eyes widen at the suggestion, laughing in surprise.

"Uh, and do what?"

The other girl shrugs, a devious smile on her face. "I dunno. Walk around. Get a bunch of junk food from the gas station a couple of blocks away."

"Uh... yeah, sure." Nicole shrugs, reaching down to pick up the slippers that she had kicked off earlier. Shae grabs the other girl's hand, pulling her up and off of the couch.

They leave the hotel after looking around to make sure none of their teammates are also down there. The two girls laugh as they run down the sidewalk, hand in hand. They slow down about a block away from the hotel.

They continue down the street to the gas station, still holding hands. Nicole has an odd pit in her stomach, feeling anxious and excited at the same time.

The two girls walk into the gas station and grab as much junk as they can carry, laughing as Nicole gently pitches a bag of chips at Shae.

The two girls leave the gas station hefting bags full of chocolate and chips. Shae throws a wink at Nicole, grabbing her hand to pull her into the alley behind the gas station.

"W-what are you doing?" Nicole stutters, almost dropping one of her bags.

"Shh," Shae whispers, setting her own bags down. She tugs Nicole's bags from her hand and sets them down as well, then slowly backs Nicole up against the wall.

Nicole stammers slightly, her eyes wide and her eyebrows raised in surprise. Shae places her hands on Nicole's hips, giving her a sly smirk.

Shae leans in, connecting their lips in a kiss. Nicole is unresponsive for a moment, terrified at the implications of this kiss. But then she realizes that they're completely alone, no one around to see them and accuse them of being... like that.

Nicole melts into the kiss, raising her hands to rest on Shae's shoulders. They stand there for a few long moments, their kisses frantic and hurried.

Finally, Nicole pulls away, laughing nervously. "That, uh... What was that all about?"

Shae shrugs, pushing Nicole away just slightly. "You're pretty hot, Haught. I got vibes from you and I wanted to see if you were down."

"I think I am down," Nicole says quietly, twisting her hands together. "But, uh... isn't it wrong? To feel like this?"

"No, Nicole," Shae says quietly, placing her hand on the other girl's shoulder soothingly. "A lot of people think that it's wrong, but it's really not. Purgatory is just a little backwoods, you know? You have nothing to be ashamed of."

"Okay," Nicole whispers, leaning in to kiss the other girl again.

-

Nicole thinks about Shae's words almost obsessively for weeks. As the school year draws to a close, she listens closely to all of the bad things that she hears about gay people. None of the things that people say seem to make much sense though. If it isn't natural, then why exactly does Nicole feel like this? If it's bad because they can't have kids, then why are infertile women still allowed to get married. It doesn't make much sense to her, so she figures that it might not be true.

Waverly notices that her friend has been acting odd, but whenever she asks Nicole just brushes her off. 

"Hey," Waverly whispers to her one day in math, leaning across the aisle. "Do you wanna go on a hike with me this weekend? I'll make us a picnic too."

"Sure," Nicole says, giving Waverly a soft smile before turning back to her worksheet. 

They meet that weekend at the bottom of a local hiking trail, Waverly standing outside of a truck with a picnic basket in hand. It's... Champ's truck, Nicole notes with disdain, watching as he slides out of the driver's seat and reaches into the back of the truck. He pulls out a baseball bat and a bag full of balls, nodding at Nicole.

She sighs, getting out of her own truck. Waverly bounces over to her, throwing one arm around her neck. "Hi!" she squeals, her voice high and clear.

"Hey, you. So... Champ is here too?" Nicole pulls away, giving her friend a smile that looks more like a grimace.

"Oh, yeah, he wanted to come along," Waverly says, looking a bit sheepish. "I hope that's okay?"

"Sure, yeah," Nicole replies quickly, not wanting to upset the other girl.

"Hey, let's get going!" Champ calls, tapping his bat against the ground impatiently. Waverly gives Nicole a rueful smile before moving to her boyfriend's side. He grabs at her hip, pressing a kiss to her temple.

Nicole sighs, following a few steps behind them. It's only a few miles to the top of the cliff, where Waverly sets up the picnic blanket. She sighs, opening the basket and handing Champ one of the beers that he had stuffed in there. He gives her a wink before cracking it open, drinking almost half of it immediately.

Nicole watches as Champ opens up his ball bag and proceeds to hit it off of the cliff. She shakes her head at the waste of good balls, the potential destruction that he could be causing.

The two girls sit on the picnic blanket, watching Champ smack baseballs off the cliff. Waverly hands Nicole a PB&J, grabbing her own as well. The two girls sit in silence, eating their sandwiches and the carrot sticks that Waverly had packed.

Champ drains the rest of his beer and yells to Waverly for another one. She stands up, grabbing another bottle from the basket. She hands it to him and he gives her a smarmy grin, smacking her ass as she walks away. Nicole's blood boils, her eyes narrowing as she's plagued with thoughts of punching that smile off of his face.

Champ grabs the empty bottle off of the ground, throwing it in the air. He hits it firmly with the bat, causing it to shatter in a rain of glass. Waverly yelps, scrambling away from the falling shards of bottle

"Champ, what the hell?" Nicole yells, springing to her feet. He looks at her, rolling his eyes as Waverly backs up towards her.

"Shut up, Gingersnap. It's no big deal. Get that stick outta your ass."

Waverly places a hand on Nicole's arm, her eyes wide with fear. "I- he just- I could've been hit by glass, Champ!"

The boy growls, throwing the still mostly-full bottle on the ground, causing another broken bottle. "Just get the fuck outta here, then!"

Nicole gathers up the blanket and the basket, tossing the last beer bottle towards the boy. He just barely catches it, glaring at the two girls.

"Come on, Waves. Let's go."

-

They make up a few days later, Champ saying that he was just in a bad mood because of his dad. Waverly forgives him, just glad to be back in his good graces.

Waverly invites Nicole to a party at the edge of the Ghost Lake and she can't bring herself to say no. She wears a blue bikini under her clothes, sighing heavily at the prospect of seeing Champ for the first time since the picnic incident.

She drives the twenty minutes to the lake, playing old country over her radio. Nicole pulls up to the lake, parking next to Waverly's red Jeep. There are already about fifteen people there, most of them either laying in the sand or splashing in the shallow edge of the lake. Many of them also have beers in their hands.

Nicole strips off her clothes before getting out of her truck, the warm summer sun hitting her bare skin. She finds Waverly, looking uncomfortable sitting in Champ's lap. 

Champ lazily tilts his beer bottle at Nicole, his expression unfriendly. Waverly fights her way off of his lap, placing a hand on Nicole's shoulder. She's wearing a yellow bikini, her skin looking even tanner than normal against it.

"Hey, Nic. Do you wanna go swim?"

"Sure," Nicole says, shooting another glance at Chance. He's watching them carefully, his lips pressed in a tight line.

The two girls head into the lake, hissing slightly as the cold water hits their warm skin. "Oh my god, it's so cold," Waverly says with a laugh, clinging onto her best friend's arm. Nicole laughs with her, grabbing ahold of the other girl's shoulders. She pushes Waverly down, her face looking shocked right before her head goes underwater.

She slaps at Nicole's arms as she resurfaces. "Nic! Oh, you're such an ass!" Despite the harsh words, she laughs as she attempts to push Nicole down. Nicole, though, stands her ground, wrapping her arms tightly around the other girl's waist. Their bodies press together tightly, warm against each other.

Waverly opens her mouth as if she's about to say something, but she closes it again and shakes her head slightly. Nicole is about to ask her what's up before Waverly's smile returns to her face and she splashes Nicole with cold lake water.

The two girls splash each other with water, laughing and trying desperately to swim away from each other. After they get tired of the lake, they head back up to the shore, wrapping up in towels. They lay down on a blanket that's been spread out on the shore, letting the warm sun dry them further. They stay there, talking quietly and laughing together even as most of the other party-goers leave.

"Waves!" they hear Champ call and for the second time in a week, Nicole is being left on a blanket by her best friend. Nicole stands, shaking her head slightly. She comes to this lake with her parents every summer, she knows a hidden section of beach just past a little grove of trees.

She heads there, watching the sun slowly sink in the sky. She listens to the sound of the waves gently lapping against the shore and she closes her eyes, letting the peaceful surroundings sink in.

After a few moments alone, she hears the soft crunch of sandals against the rocky beach. Waverly sits next to her silently, leaning her head against Nicole's shoulders.

Nicole, on impulse, turns her head towards Waverly. They stare at each other for a moment before beginning to lean in towards each other, and then-

Nicole feels a searing pain as someone grips her hair and flings her to the side, her head striking against the rocks. She gasps for breath, hearing the dull sound of Champ screaming. Something like 'of all people, her? Don't look at her, you've done enough already!"

Nicole struggles to her feet, feeling the warm trickle of blood flowing down her temple. She stumbles over to the two other teenagers, grabbing Champ's shoulder.

She throws her fist into Champ's cheek, causing him to fall to the ground. Nicole falls with him, repeatedly smashing her fist into the boy's face. She feels the sickening crunch of his nose against her fist, her fingers being coated by the gush of his blood.

Waverly wraps her arms around Nicole's shoulders, trying to pull her away from the boy. Nicole stumbles away, her face and hand stinging in pain.

Waverly runs her thumb across Nicole's split lip, a thin smear of blood following her finger. Nicole gives a watery chuckle, her eyes filled with tears. Waverly leans forward, connecting their lips in a feverish kiss.

The two girls seperate, both of them giving each other tear-filled smiles. Champ groans on the ground, snapping them back to reality.

"Come on," Nicole whispers, gently pulling the other girl along with her. "I think we have some things to talk about."

**Author's Note:**

> Hope ya'll like this. I actually started writing this like two years ago and I decided to pick it back up. It's rooted in a lot of stuff that I've felt myself, so it's a pretty vulnerable piece. Let me know what you think down below!


End file.
